maintained by Lin of Luratia

Space-Based Solar Power

NASA’s rendering of a satellite solar collector which would generate solar power in space and send it to Earth via harmless microwaves.

Although Luratia is a cloud-covered planet, most of the energy we use comes directly from our sun, thanks to satellite and solar cell technology.

Because our thick cloud cover puts us at risk of boiling from the heat of trapped greenhouse gas, we never strayed very long in their use and development of polluting sources of energy. We took a liking to wind power, tidal power, geothermal and nuclear. But in the end, we settled on solar.

Solar energy was not produced in any significant quantity until we developed satellite technology. Today, solar energy accounts for over 85% of our world energy consumption.

It may seem ironic that a cloudy planet relies so largely on solar energy, yet it was inevitable. As our technological research demanded greater amounts of energy, we recognized the need for highly efficient energy production. We first discovered solar power in the 2050’s on our North Pole, where the atmosphere and cloud cover is the most thin. We had no idea at the time that less than 100 years later, we would be collecting massive amounts of solar power in space and beaming it safely to the ground.

How Carbon Atoms Made Space-Based Solar Collection Possible

Many technological advancements made space-based solar power possible, chief of which was the discovery of the remarkable properties of carbon atoms and the bond they form when arrayed in a certain geometric pattern. We call this type of bonded carbon atoms the Clarkon Substance, or simply “clarkon”. Earth’s scientists are currently developing this material, which they call graphene.

Clarkon is used in virtually every component part of our satellite solar collectors. The solar cells are made of clarkon semiconductors, which are more resistant than silicon to radiation and damage from the impacts of space debris. The building material of the satellite itself is made of clarkon, which is 200 times stronger than your steel and 6 times lighter.

After the clarkon semiconductors convert sunlight into electricity, the electricity is transmitted as microwaves to one of 12 receiving stations located on the Continent, the nation-continent where clarkon was discovered. Each receiving station is equipped with a microwave antenna, known as a rectenna. A rectenna is capable of converting microwave energy to end-user electricity. At present time, the conversion efficiency of our rectennas is 94%; in other words, only 6% of the microwave energy received from our satellite solar collectors is lost.